Friday, July 16, 2010
High Country Camp

Larry: Our last morning up here for awhile. It's been an interesting week: lots of physical challenges, not only getting up and down to the creek but then hiking the creek itself. C took us on a hike down the creek to our early diggins. I didn't believe we could make it. She hatched a plan in the night to put on our river shoes so that we could wade the creek if we had to and we climbed, waded and crawled our way over boulders and we made it!! Then we clambored out of the canyon up our old trail - sort of. The gold is non-existent for us this week. But we have discovered (re-discovered) something more valuable - time in the woods, facing our challenges, spending quality time with each other in solitude. I realized too that this summer isn't about any one week or one destination or for that matter, any particular result. It's about learning to listen to Spirit, learning how to live in the flow, unlearning our old patterns of lack and fear.

The gold is actually incidental to the success of our summer. A pileated woodpecker is announcing his presence this morning! I'm not sure what to think about this creek - gold wise. I would readily come back up here to camp and I'd still like to do some creek crawling but I wouldn't come up here specifically for gold. I'm thinking we are destined to find our gold somewhere else?

Charlotte: Cool with a few clouds and mosquitoes. Finally a night of sleep! We moved our camp yesterday after we climbed out of the canyon. Larry was not too enthusiastic but I persisted. It only took about 30 minutes. We moved into the open area where we had our camper years ago. We had a much bigger view, a level bed and more time without mosquitoes. We sat, drank wine and discussed our week, relatively, mosquito free until they finally found us. We took an exploratory jaunt down the creek yesterday - climbing, wading, crawling over boulders. I was determined that we would make it to our old diggins and WE DID IT! I was determined NOT to retrace our steps. It only took about 3 hours. The hike out of the canyon was very strenuous but we are finally getting our mountain goat legs. We located some of the old trail - it had really sluffed away over the last 20+ years. I don't think it would take too much work to make it usable again. We may consider that as a possibility. A few clouds moving over this morning and it is humid.

Thursday, July 15, 2010
High Country Camp

Larry: Still no gold! Where are we missing it or how? C seems to think that it's coming in from below us for the most part and I tend to agree. I'd still like to take a run down stream to check it out. But last night, we both asked, if we had $5000 in the bank, would we care about the gold? Can we be satisfied with our wilderness experience without gold? What is the allure of gold? It can't be in the possession of it because we turn around and sell it. So, is it the monetary value? Partly. I believe it's mostly in the searching and finding something of value that we can then sell for money.... very much like hunting for wild mushrooms. If I found a pile of gold coins, I'd admire them for awhile but then I'd either sell them or keep them as an investment. Somehow, we need the challenge of the search in order to enjoy our pursuits.

Roughing it involves challenges - giving up the ease and comfort of a home. How rough must it have been for the early miners? How about the first mountain men blazing trails west, Lewis & Clark? Have we improved ourselves by technology, by providing luxurious shelter and conveniences? Are we primitive beings by nature, needing nature to nurture us? I feel different out here in the woods. I'm more in tune with my authentic self - though that may just be the solitude. I'm more present - in the now. We'll forge ahead today, seeking that elusive golden treasure. We intend to break camp tomorrow morning and go out the back way - out through Iowa Hill - look in at Elizabethtown - try to plan our next week's activities.

Charlotte: Another long night for me. A tree fell in the night and made a loud noise and Larry didn't budge - he didn't even hear it - man the mosquitoes are out in force this morning. After the tree fell I was wide awake for hours listening for bears. I only saw one shooting star, no satellites and no planes but we have certainly seen 1000's of mosquitoes since we arrived.

The gold continues to elude us. What is that about? Being in the flow - having access to all? I don't know that we can create gold in the creek but I do believe that we can be led to the gold - we can find the gold by listening - some part of us knows where the gold is in this creek.

What is my fear about in the night? In a vehicle I would feel safe. There must have literally been 1000's of backpackers sleeping in tents in bear country last night. How may of them were attacked or eaten? I'll check that out when we get back to the ranch. When we get back I'm going to check out the bear alarm I saw in the mining magazine. Is it a basic fear of the dark?

This "vision quest" of ours - this adventure is really teaching us to be present - it demands it - the mosquitoes, the search for gold, the lumps under my bed, listening for bears, my fear of the dark, tuning into the sights and sounds, observing our thoughts and reactions to situations.

I love certain aspects of this experience - right here, right now; the quiet, except for the bird sounds, the distant sound of the creek, the smell of the forest air, just an occasional bandit now,  being all alone (we are all alone since the claim owner left last evening and although he is camped way down the road from us we felt we weren't totally alone until he left). I would like a comfortable sleeping place; no lumps under the bed, no sloping bed that we slide down all night and I'd like to be out in the open instead of in the thick grove of trees and bushes, a good mosquito repellent would be nice, peace about sleeping in the forest and lots of gold.

Good morning God. Where is the gold? Thank you for this time in this beautiful, quiet, peaceful place.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The High Country

Larry: We put up our tent yesterday due to the mosquitoes. Consequently, I had a delicious night of rest last night. They tend to dampen our outdoor experience. The gold continues to elude us?! Have we lost our edge, our swing? I can tend to get discouraged in the night after a hard day of prospecting and crawling the creek but then I'm reminded of how stingy this creek can seem and then she rewards those who persevere.

Also, on a bigger scale, I must continue to embrace the experience, the adventure, the journey.... and not make this all about the gold - 3 oz. would be sweet but so was lying in bed this morning watching the sun light up the western ridge - 3 oz. would be so satisfying but so was sipping wine while watching the sun slide down the far ridge - 3 oz. would be delicious but so was our camp-out meal last night - corn chips covered in chili and topped with onions and cheese with avocado on the side.

We have discovered a new recreational activity up here. It is great for a couple but I can see it being even more fun for a group. It requires one to be fully present and totally focused on your partner. You look into your partner's eyes and study their features - their cheeks, their mouth, their ears, their hair - and then..... you strike at them! Very softly but firmly, as you dispense with a hungry, sucking mosquito, all the while carrying on a lively conversation such as, "I got him" or "Darn I missed him" or if you're really good, " I got two"! Charlotte needs some more practice in the "softly" department. She strikes with a little too much enthusiasm but they never get away. I've decided to call this game Skeeter Skidadle!

Charlotte: We slept in this morning - 7:00 at least. I have finished my morning rituals; teeth, deodorant, face, pee - I try to put off serious bathroom time until it's urgent. I only want to bare my backside to the mosquitoes for any length of time once a day. It was wonderful to have the tent up last night. If we are vigilant coming and going we only let an occasional bandit in. We could sleep with our heads and arms out. Larry announced this morning that he had a delicious night of sleep. I had a delicious night awake. I spent the night listening for animals sounds, especially bears, watched for satellites and shooting stars and thought of the fairy tale about a pea under the mattress as there was something very hard right under my backside.

The mosquitoes are swarming this morning. We don our foreign legion caps and long sleeved shirts, morning and evening, for protection. We have a good 2 hours in the evening and 1+ hours in the morning of swarming. We head right to bed after supper clean-up so we can get in the tent. We rehash our day and rehearse our future and then settle down to be present and read awhile.

What about the gold? What are we learning from this experience? Where is the gold? It seems like we should know where it is? Are we not listening? Are we being led somewhere else?

We were camped out at Elizabethtown 13 years ago. We feel pretty good about how we have organized to camp out of our car. Setting up the tent was a big improvement. Sit with the questions and listen. Ego wants to keep us busy working hard, doubting and fearing. Spirit wants us to be still and listen - easy, fun, peaceful.... why are we here? We have been having some wonderful time for journaling, reading, talking and being quiet in the morning.

I hiked out of the canyon twice yesterday and Larry hiked in and out three times. We are getting in shape! We come up to camp for lunch to check things and move our car so that it will stay in the shade during the day. So far, our ice is lasting very well.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010
High Sierra Camp

Larry: Had our first cup of coffee looking up at the sunlit ridge across the canyon. Lots to report - top of the list was last night's onslaught of mosquitoes! Pretty intense for a couple of hours plus our Cutter's doesn't seem to be working. We had a pleasant evening in spite of the bugs though. A large shrimp salad made camping a treat - a bed of lettuce, onions, celery and tomatoes, topped with boiled egg, avocado, shrimp and dressing. Our bedroom choice is outstanding. We have three layers of cushion and it was almost as good as any mattress we've slept in. Sleeping out under the stars is such a departure for most of us. We sleep in an enclosed room - maybe a window open but looking up at a blank ceiling. Under the stars is a much  more primitive style. Periodically, I awoke during the night to look up at a new star pattern and just laid there and felt entertained. I've decided that the night time fear of the dark, "what if" bear, etc. is mostly a state of mind. Once I placed my security with God, I slept soundly. I must admit though that the talk this morning of a camper hit a chord with me - sitting - mosquito free - having our coffee, sleeping without covering our heads, etc. I intend to work through my attachment to soft living.

Charlotte: 6:45 AM - clear and coolish - Our biggest challenge so far are the mosquitoes - clouds of them. They are not as bad as Sutter's By Pass or Milsap Bar but they are bad enough. I stayed fairly warm last night because until the middle of the night we had to sleep with our heads under the covers because of the mosquitoes. I awoke often but went back to sleep farly quickly. Our bed was pretty comfortable. The first sunlight hits the distant ridge about 6. That is when we climbed out of bed. We really want our own high country claims. The claim owner came by for another visit just before we hit the sack last night. He seems lonely. I have made it through my series of morning constitutions. With such a small camping table there are challenges but we are making it work. So far the mosquitoes have not been bad this morning - yet. We go in search of our fortune today. What can we do about the mosquitoes. I guess I spoke too soon. As the morning is warming up they are moving in looking for blood. There are a few clouds drifting over.

LATER - We have decided to set our tent up. It will keep the mosquitoes at bay tonight and if it rains we are ready! You know the mosquitoes are bad when you get multiple targets with each smack. Thank goodness we can actually get into the tent and get away from them.

Monday, July 12, 2010
Auburn, McD's

Larry: On our way to the high country! At last! We are full of optimism about this week in the mountains. We are intrepid gold prospectors - searching for our El Dorado.

Charlotte: It's a beautiful morning! It's been almost a year since we have been in Auburn. I am getting antsy to get up the road but looking forward to morning coffee. What surprises and adventures does this day hold? The theme for our lives right now seems to be "unknowns".

LATER - 5:30 PM

Larry: We were able to drive into our old camping spot.  Hiked down to the creek with the claim owner and scoped out the possibilities. Spent most of the afternoon sitting with the trees and chasing the shade. It feels good to be here once again. I must admit a certain amount of yearning for the comforts that a house offers but that is the old man in me - the fearful, comfort seeker. What about the intrepid adventurer? I must re-awaken him and put him in charge. I know we'll have a wonderful time up here. The claim owner seems pretty laid back about our presence. We offered him 20% of what we find, which is what we paid the old claim owner when we were up here years ago. Now we just have to find the gold!

Charlotte: We hiked pretty far down the old road when we first got here. It was warm and sticky but the forest is beautiful and it smells so good here. It was an interesting trip through time. We left Auburn by 9. The fragrance of Mountain Misery lay heavy in the air as we made our way to Foresthill. We took time for some photos in Foresthill and then headed down into the north fork of the middle fork of the American River. We stopped briefly at Rainbow Bridge. It was a much longer climb out of the canyon than we remembered. We topped out just past the Big Trees turnoff at about 6000 ft. After our hike down into the canyon on the old road we took time to just sit for awhile and then decided to go look for a camp spot. We found a vehicle but couldn't find anyone around so we got out our lawn chairs and sat for a bit. Pretty soon the claim owner came walking down the road. He had been putting up claim markers. He showed us a trail, that was pretty hard to find. He built it down to the creek last year. Our bodies moaned and groaned about the hike and the altitude as we tried to keep up with him. He is obviously in better shape than we are.

After he left we continued our search for a camp spot. We finally settled on a shady spot up from the flat where we had our camper years ago. Our fire ring on the flat and our fire ring on the upper landing are still there after all these years. We are really enjoying the blessed quiet - the sound of the distant creek, wind in the tall conifers, bird sounds and some very high jets flying over. It is already 6 PM! Where has this day gone? We have cleared an area up in the trees for our bed and gathered fir and cedar bows to make it softer. We have decided to sleep under the stars tonight. There is a small stream coming off of the slope just down the road and Larry has already hiked down there to fill water bottles. It looks like it will be a go for us to spend the summer here.

Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tofte Ranch

Larry: Yesterday a great hot July day was had by all - weeded and mowed.

Charlotte: Sunny and clear. We worked really hard around here yesterday. It was really hot. We head to the high country tomorrow. I found some really interesting historical information online. I really think we are going to come home with gold this week. Lots of unknowns on my mind today.... how far will we be able to drive in on the old road? Where will we camp? How will we get down to the creek?

North Fork American River looking downstream from the bridge

July 10, 2010 - Golden Adventures

Tofte Ranch - Sunny, Clear, 68 degrees

Larry: Coffee on the deck. Two days with no gold, except for a few fines in the black sand. The jury rigged shaft for my detector worked great. We dug lots of targets - lead, shell casings, aluminum can fragments, etc. This might be a steep learning curve. I'm learning the sounds of each target as well as their number. Now, all I need to practice on is the sounds and numbers for GOLD! We'll put in a day on the farm - it's going to be a warm one! Our bodies are sore. I must remember that the first couple of weeks were always hard on us. Aches and pains were the part of starting a new season.

Yankee Jim Bridge in the distance

Charlotte: Yesterday we spent a hot day in the American River Canyon. It was 92 in Colfax and so I am sure that it was up in the 100's in the canyon. After some searching we found the trail leading down the river on the east side of the Yankee Jim Bridge. There was lots of poison oak and we had to be ever vigilant for rattlesnakes.

We found out right away that we don't have our mountain goat legs yet - climbing over boulders and up and over rocks had my legs feeling shaky by the time we reached our destination. Did we really hike miles up and down this river? We ARE getting in good shape.

There were impressive rock walls above the trail, built by the 49ers, as they cleared the bedrock in search of gold. Larry even found some old drill holes. The gold continues to elude us. Actually, I did find some very fine gold in a small crevice. My little detector really sings in pockets of black sand but since gold likes to hide in black sand I panned it out. We both found a goodly amount of metal yesterday - bullets, lead, old tin cans, wire - which means that we are finally figuring out how to use our detectors. Larry's will discriminate - mine will not so I figure out the sounds.

We spent a goodly portion of the day prospecting up and down the river even though there was virtually no shade where we were working. There was a slight breeze. We finally had to give it up because we both felt baked and we were out of drinking water. The trail out was blistering. We found 3 small areas of shade to rest in on the way back to the car. All I could think of was ice cold beer. As most of you know, I am not a big beer drinker. We stopped at the little market in Colfax and then found some shade at the Bear River on our way back to Chicago Park. Ice cold, wet, fizzy beer - maybe the best I've ever had.

Next week we head to the high country claims. There will be far less garbage at the claims, cooler temperatures, no poison oak or snakes but there will be peace, quiet, solitude and mosquitoes and maybe bears. For all of the years we mined up there, we never found any fine (extra small gold called colors). It was all pretty chunky. This week of shake down trips has been very helpful. We both feel we are ready to head to the woods for a full week now. We've worked out most of the details for our expeditions to the high country.

Today is for weeding, rototilling, moving water and mowing. It's supposed to be even hotter so we hope to be done before the heat of the day, which comes around 4 or 5 PM. Tomorrow is for shopping, packing and loading for our trip. Over the last 3 days there have been huge thunderheads in the mountains so we must go prepared for summer mountain thunderstorms.

Shirttail Bridge
July 9, 2010

Larry: Stayed at the ranch yesterday and rototilled the far garden. Caught up around the place. It's very nice here in the shade of the canyon..... hearing the rapids above the bridge. Is today the day we find our first gold of the season? I'd be so excited to find good gold today. It's very relaxing sitting here on the landing where we had our wedding reception in 1981..... recalling the great times we had here.

Charlotte: American River - sunny and war - We are back at the river after a day on the farm. It is so great to be here.

Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tofte Ranch

Larry: Yesterday was a day of rough hiking, equipment problems and heat with no gold. It makes for a sore, stiff body. We only have 2 segments for the Gold Bug so it's a little short! Even though I'm sore from clamorring over rocks, mentally, I'm encouraged by it all. Our detectors work fine and we're learning their secrets. I purchased a Fisher Gold Bug Pro Detector in the spring and I have been itching to get to the river to try it out. We're going to stay on the ranch today and get caught up around here before we tackle the river again tomorrow. I'd like to try downstream from the bridge.

Charlotte: We spent a long day on Shirttail yesterday. We definitely need to be in better shape. The creek felt like rough going. I am so impressed that when we were first married, we moved all of our camping and dredging gear down into this area of Shirttail and even more impressed that we hauled it back out of Shirttail Canyon. We must have been really tough in our youth - well, when we were 30 and 40. The gold continues to elude us but we are learning our equipment. We are really looking forward to a week at Duncan. We are looking forward to easy and fun. Easy and fun.... The theme for our lives thus far seems to have been about testing ourselves. We are saying it's OK if our lives get easier. It's been wonderful spending a couple of days down in our old prospecting haunts.

Mexican Gulch

Tuesday, July 7, 2010
Angel Falls

Larry: Well, you can call this entry "eviction notice".  Our great camp out at Mexican Gulch was squelched by a cute park ranger! NO camping anywhere other than approved campgrounds. In a way it's a good thing as we were able to get good rest in our bed at Arlene's. But here we are, back at Shirttail Creek. It's crunch time to try out our detectors. I am asking Ron To join us today! May his spirit show us the gold. He found a really big nugget in Shirttail.

Our "almost" camp at Mexican Gulch

Charlotte: We got evicted yesteday! Wound up having to pack up and drive back into town. We were loaded with food and camping gear for 4 days! Unloaded everything and got into bed fairly early. We were out of bed by 6, had a cup of coffee, Larry moved all of the irrigation sprinklers while I packed up for a day trip. We drove into Colfax and had coffee and breakfast at McD's and here we are at Angel Falls, sitting in our lawn chairs, before 9 AM. I guess we will commute this week? We were disappointed - even dispondent after the park ranger drove away but in the night we were glad to be sleeping in a bed.

We arrived in Chicago Park, California on Tuesday, June 29. Decided to work around the ranch for a few days before heading off to prospect. It's been pretty warm in these parts. Our first few days were spent weeding, rototilling, weedeating, mowing and moving sprinkler lines.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Tofte Ranch

Larry: Another beautiful day. Lots to report. C gets her hair cut early this morning. Then we pack up and head out to the river. Sutherlin cants us back early? D&V sold their house and have to be out by Sept. 6 soooo if we are going to help them we have alot to do in the next 2 months IF we decide to return to Oregon. Like, find lots of gold! My challenge today is uncertaintyfear. I must trust Spirit to lead and just stay present..... too many unknowns.

Later - Shirttail Creek (Angel Falls) Here we are, sitting in the shade at Angel Falls remembering our time here 29 years ago. This canyon echos with our presence. Just below, on the side of the creek, we began married life - two innocents beginning a life of adventure. Each turn of the road holds a memory. We met a fellow whose folks had one of the cabins at the bridge and he shared his childhood memories with us. His family cabin was on the flat cement area where we had our wedding reception. We've decided to just "be" this afternoon - get in touch with ourselves in the company of nature.

Charlotte: It seems to be chilly here most mornings but it can sure warm up during the day. Where will we be this time tomorrow? This is our first D-Day (Departure Day) of the season. We are headed to Shirttail for 4 days of prospecting.

LATER - Shirttail Canyon - Devil's Falls (We renamed it Angel Falls years ago). It's HOT and we are lazy and sleepy. It's about 10 degrees hotter in the canyon that up in Colfax. We arrived at the Yankee Jim Bridge about noon. When we arrived there was hardly anyone here but now the bridge area is packed with young people.

3:30 PM - We have moved up to Mexican Gulch. It is cooler and much quieter than down at the falls or the bridge. It is a lazy summer afternoon.

6:30 PM - We just got evicted by a State Park employee. They say we cannot park here for the night so we are going to pack up and head back to Chicago Park to regroup.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tofte Ranch

A beautiful, cool morning on Arlene's porch - coffee with the cows and geese. An uneventful drive though it seemed rather long! I'm sitting here looking at all the work needing to be done. I'm looking forward to this farm work almost as much as the gold prospecting. For this week, through July 4th, we'll stay here on the farm and put in some labor. It will give us time to get back in touch with Mother Earth - planting, weeding, mowing, etc.

Larry ~ My Bank Account of Time

My Bank Account of Time

Today is my father’s birthday, June 12. He would have been 97 today if he hadn’t died about 12 years ago. In thinking about his passing which some people wouldn’t call untimely since he was 85 years old, I am reminded of others whose passing could be called untimely. Our friend, Judi Blake, was in her 50’s when she died suddenly in her sleep, another friend, also named Judy is nearing her transition at a relatively young age. I once performed unsuccessful CPR on a fellow worker who was 32. We recently heard about a small child who succumbed to leukemia. I bring up all this to remind myself that we come into this human existence with a finite “time” in the “bank of this Life”. When we are young, we spend it unconsciously, if not recklessly, because it feels like we are immortal. But, as we continue to age, we begin to grasp the importance of time in all of it’s contexts. When I passed 50 years, I realized that realistically, my bank account of time was at least 50% empty. As I approach 70, about 75% has been spent, with luck. We never know how much time we are each allotted. Each day represents a “draw” from our “time” account without being able to check the balance. We can’t save some time for a rainy day – it gets spent whether or not we want to. We could lock ourselves in a dark room for 24 hours, not doing anything and it would still get lived. So my lesson for today is to spend each day by living fully, totally present, enjoying each moment as the rich and precious gem that it is. Our dear friend, Mari, wrote us yesterday. It was her birthday. Her words touched us deeply and I would like to share them with you.

"It is my birthday today, so I am taking the opportunity to move slowly and listen more closely than usual to "what wants to happen" today."

Good words to live by.....
Love,
Larry

How We Became Prospectors

June 10, 2010

As most of you know our housesit in Sutherlin, Oregon is coming to an end next week. We'll still be in Oregon for a couple of more weeks but then we are headed off for another adventure. We have had several inquiries with regard to our plans and wanted to share some of what our intentions are.

The theme for this summer could be many things -

The Great Summer Experiment OR
Our Vision Quest OR
How Much "Stuff" Does It Take To Be Happy? OR
How To Get Back to Our Heart Place OR
Who Are Larry & Charlotte & Why Are They Here?

We attended a wonderful class in Roseburg, Oregon earlier this year. It was called "The Quest for Wholeness: Healing Ourselves, Healing Our World". To learn more about the book click below.


The Quest For Wholeness: Healing Ourselves, Healing Our Worlds

We have had a wonderful spiritual teacher, Donna Smith, and a wonderful group to share and grow with. It has been a remarkable and awakening experience that set us on a path of questions ..... that led us to this jumping off place. Our intention for our summer is to continue "our quest for wholeness".

Before we go on, we have a story we want to tell you. Some of it you may know but not all and we want to speak to you from our hearts. We have been reading through 30 years of journals and looking at photos these last few weeks and in doing that we have made many discoveries or perhaps, the truer statement is to say that we have remembered a lot of things that we had somehow forgotten over the years.

When we met, over 31 years ago, we were both working at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California. We had very good paying jobs. We lived for Fridays and dreaded Mondays; returning to jobs that felt like drudgery - a week of mundane activities and shuffling papers. (Larry had worked at the lab almost 20 years as a scientific programmer when I met him) When we met, we found that we shared similar dreams of moving to the woods and living by the sweat of our brows with some brains thrown in. We went off to live those dreams together in 1981. Probably, neither of us would have attempted it alone but together we felt that we could do anything. We dreamt of writing about our adventures and at the time I had a dream of becoming a successful artist.

Benjamin Franklin said, "Write something worth reading or do something worth writing about". Our intention was to cover both of those bases. We have done a lot of living in our 30+ years together. I wish we had a record of the location of every bed we have slept in. Some of the things we are really passionate about are traveling, adventures and writing about our experiences.

Our very first home together was on the banks of the North Fork of the American River above Chimney Rock. Lots of people hiked the trails during the day and we wanted more privacy so about a week later we moved up to Shirttail Creek below Yankee Jim Road. These were huge pack-ins since we set up a kitchen for long term campouts and then all of our camping gear and mining gear.

From a Mormon hymnal dated 1862:

I heard of gold at Sutter's mill
At Michigan Bluff and Iowa Hill
But never thought it was rich until,
I started off to prospect.
At Yankee Jim's I bought a purse,
Inquired for Iowa Hill, of course,
And traveled on, but what was worse,
Fetched up in Shirt-tail Canyon.
At Iowa Hill they buried me,
In the Catholic cemetery,
Underneath an old pine tree,
Now I no longer prospect.
Yet from below the gravestone cold,
I think about the days of old,
Still yearning for the days of gold,
When I went off to prospect.

On Shirttail Creek Larry built us a wonderful camp. We worked hard, cooked over an open fire and slept under the stars. Young love was wonderful - beyond our wildest dreams.

In October of '81 the rains moved in and we spent one night slowly washing away below our tarp as the torrents of water came down off of the hills. Thank goodness a caretaking position was not too far in our future. Winter on the creek was looking a little harder than we expected. It wasn't too many days after that we moved up to King's Hill just outside of Iowa Hill, California.

When we headed for the river, we went in search of a simple life that required very little money. We were on a journey to discover who we were without all of the trappings. How much does a person really need to own to be happy? We lived by the sweat of our labor without the security of a savings account, a regular pay check or health insurance. Some people thought we were foolish. Some of our family members thought we had lost our minds. Who, in their right mind, would leave good jobs, and years of education and go off to live in the woods?

Our new home, King's Hill, was 3000 acres of forestland owned by a group of land investors who lived in the Bay Area. It was remote to say the least. We actually had a cabin but there was no phone, electricity or running water, unless you ran down the hill to get a bucket of water at the spring. Or, I almost forgot, in the winter rain water did run off of the roof and into our aluminum boat and we bucketed water out of that . We lived mostly off of gold for those first 7 years.... gold, walnuts and firewood. We had 40 acres of dry land walnuts to tend and we got the crop in exchange for caring for the orchard - at least what was left over from the ground squirrels and the bears. We thrived on the hard physical labor of hauling water, cutting firewood, building fires, shoveling snow, hunting for food, mining for gold and even washing clothes by hand.

If we had a "poor" week we ate beans - if we had a "rich" week we ate steak and drank wine. We ate a lot of beans in the beginning but it made the steak and wine experiences all the more delicious. What we discovered in a very short time is how much we had taken for granted and how many of the pleasures of our lives we had missed because we were walking through so much of life in a semi-conscious state. We thrived on the challenge of making ends meet - seeing how little money we could live on and still be happy.... sometimes deliriously happy. We had very little "stuff" . We chose not to sell our souls to the devil for a $ so that we could buy more "stuff". Our greatest extravagance was the purchase of books.

We chose the "road less traveled" and it has made all the difference. We have traveled the highways and bi-ways, had amazing adventures and experiences, met wonderful people and spent long summers camped out in the woods. Our pursuits have brought us moments of great peace and exhileration but we have also been presented with challenges and obstacles to overcome; illness, injuries, homelessness. We can always find a place to camp and hang our hats.

We have lived an extraordinary life and adventure but we have never found a way to make a living doing it. I think that we made up the story that we could choose to suffer through in the corporate world and make good money or we could live the life we dreamed about and live on the edge. We did not dream of making lots of money. We dreamt of living life off of the land, in the wilderness. We dreamt of a simple life where we could discover the essential facts of life. We used to tell folks that we had read Thoreau one too many times because we made a conscious decision "to go to the woods, to front the essential facts of life and see if we could learn what it had to teach, and not when we came to die, discover that we had not lived".

A friend asked us once if we had taken an oath of poverty. It seemed an odd question at the time but after consideration, we had to answer "yes". Basically we did take an oath of poverty. We went in search of a simple life that required very little money. We were on a journey to discover who we were without all of the trappings. It has been an amazing and wonderful adventure. Periodically, we would drop back in for a few months and get "jobs"; working for a National RV guide visiting all of the privately owned campgrounds in California selling advertising, working for the census, Hickory Farms, working as organic farmers for 8 years, caretaking, paintings houses, digging ditches.

As we have traveled our path, we have shared our journey with others but not in an "organized" way. This journey is a process of ups and downs and all arounds. There are paths to walk, mountains to climb, rivers to cross and rivers to navigate. There are challenges and some rough roads. But, there are also wonders to behold and many gifts and blessings to be had along the way. One never knows what is around the next bend. It is a journey of discovery and awakening.

We lost a dear friend last month. Judi was 50 years old. She was a very successful and brilliant business woman. When we spoke to her in February she said that she was in the process of reorganizing her life because she didn't have enough time for fun and family. She was in apparently good health but she went to sleep on a Saturday night and never woke up again. Her husband, David, discovered her the next morning. I cannot imagine the pain of that for David.

What we learned from Judi's passing is that you can run out of time while you are trying to find more time. You can run out of life while you are living for that "someday". You can run out of days while you are chasing after the dream, instead of embracing the journey. When we were young, we thought we had all the time in the world. Larry will be 70 this year and I will be 60. As one gets older, one becomes more aware of their clock ticking. If one wakes up, one finds that things that have been important, lose their importance. Your priorities change.

We are seeing things very differently these last few weeks. We realize that "stuff" can still own you, if you aren't careful. Dreams of ownership; whether it be a home, car, RV, the latest gadget, lots of clothes, toys, stuff, stuff and more stuff, etc., the illusion of security - they all cost us time. So we are asking ourselves how do we want to spend our time, and in the end, will it really be worth it? This is a very personal decision for each individual. That is where we are.... taking a close look at how we want to "spend" our lives..... our time on this planet. It's just like money in the bank except we don't know how much we have. We want to be fully awake instead of lost in our delusions and illusions.

This is what we know for sure - we left our jobs in 1981 because we did not want to live lives "of quiet desperation"...

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
Henry David Thoreau

We want to live each day to the fullest. We still have hopes and dreams but we are not exactly sure what they are any longer. We got lost along the way and started marching to the drums of other people. We are igniting our fire once again. It has just been a glow of embers for awhile now. We almost forgot that it was even there. The fire of life burns from the glow of passion in our hearts. What are we really passionate about? Why are we here?

I won't say that we lost our way. We made the perfect detour to learn the lessons we came here to learn but now we return to "our woods".

We know that the way to get back to our heartplace is to spend lots of time alone in the wilderness ~ walking through the woods, sitting by the campfire at night, sleeping under the stars, writing, meditating and just being still in the sights, sounds and fragrance of nature.

When were were farming we used to go out to the pond and see how long we could sit there in total silence just noticing our surroundings..... counting birds, so to speak. It was an amazing experience. We haven't done anything like that in a long time. We know that it is in the silence that our Divine Source speaks to our hearts.

It feeds our souls. We are headed to California in the next few week to do just that. We will be calling Tofte Ranch our homebase but our intention is to spend long periods of time camped out and backpacking. We have an invitation to spend time on a gold mining claim way up in the high country. It is a place where we have spent many summers all alone and look forward to time there again. There are also many other options for us that we will be exploring. We will post to our blog often throughout the summer and look forward to sharing our adventures.

We aren't sure of our departure date at this point but our intention is to head south somewhere around the first part of July. We are planning to spend about a week working at Tofte Ranch down in Chicago Park, California before heading out for the wilderness.

Happy trails to us and have a great summer.... until next time.

Love & blessings,

Charlotte & Larry

This blog will focus our our goldmining and gold prospecting and the other will focus on our "quest for wholeness" - our personal thoughts and experiences. They will obviously overlap in some areas.

Love and blessings,
Larry & Charlotte

Our "quest for wholeness" blog ~ http://www.ourjourneyoftheheart.com/

Counting Down the Days ~

A photo of just over 32 pennyweight of gold from one day's dredging in 1987! That is a quarter, dime and nickel in the pan.

May 28, 2010

We are counting down the days until we head south to the gold country. We are very excited about our summer in the wilderness. We started life together 30 years ago. Our first home, after we got married, we camped out on Shirttail Creek. We made our "living" from gold for the first 7 years of our married life. Each summer we were camped out somewhere on a creek or river from June to October. During the winter we did short prospecting trips - winter in northern California does not lend itself to long campouts. It feels like we are getting back to our passion, to our heart place.

Larry will turn 70 in September and I will turn 60 in October. We are very thankful that we can still think about hiking into the mountains and down into the canyons, backpacking and camping out for the summer. We'll be checking in on a regular basis to keep you posted on our adventures. If everything goes as planned, we'll be headed south by the first of July. In the meantime, I am packing and cleaning, as we get ready to move out of this house in Sutherlin, Oregon. We have been housesitting here since October 1st. These folks come back from their home in Mexico June 15th. It is a lovely home and it has been a wonderful place to be for awhile.

Larry has been working for the census, 7 days a week, for the last several weeks. He thinks he has at least 2 more weeks of work. We thank God for our many blessings. We'll keep you posted on our progress. Until next time......